Sperm whales breaching!!

What a day full of surprises we had today! In the morning we saw a very large group of Risso’s dolphins. Normally here in Sao Miguel we see small group with 5 to 20 individuals, but today’s group was extra large; we could have around 100 Risso’s dolphins, all ages: adults, young ones and very small calfs. We also saw a pod of common dolphins. In the afternoon, we were very lucky to spot a sperm whale family, many whales were around, calm and socializing and we had the amazing opportunity of seeing them breaching!

Stripped and common dolphins also showed up.

We had the luck to see a big male jumping

Common dolphin

The group of common dolphins was full of babies

 An adult Risso's dolphin

A younger one

A calm day with dolphins

Today we went out and again the ocean was very calm. We're loving these summer days here in the Azores. We had some beautiful encounters with two of our resident dolphin species; common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. After our dolphin encounters our lookout had spotted the blow of a whale, probably a sperm whale, to the west of the island. We searched far and wide but without luck. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed our calm dolphin morning out on the ocean. In the afternoon we encountered the same species, but different groups along another part of the island. The bottlenose dolphins were from a well known group, including one we call "Submarino" that has a chopped dorsal fin.

Photos from today:

Resident species day!!

What a day of summer!!:D The sea was calm, the weather excellent and to complete the day.... we saw all our resident species!!! We start with several sperm whales, we move on to a whole group of risso's dolphins, very playful common dolphins, and our friends bottlenose dolphins!

 Physeter macrocephalus | Sperm whale

 Grampus griseus | Rissos dolphin

 Grampus griseus | Rissos dolphin

 Delphinus delphis | Common dolphin

                                                       Delphinus delphis | Common dolphin

Beaked whales, sperm whales and dolphins

The summer sunshine and calm waters are still with us, making it perfect for whale and dolphin watching. Today we encountered a total of 4 different species throughout the day, with both whales and dolphins for all to see. In the morning we encountered both common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins (the latter being a big group that we know well because it includes an inividual with a broken top jaw who we call "Max"). After our dolphin encounters we went to see some beaked whales. They turned out to be Blainville's beaked whales; two individuals that became curious towards our two catamarans (a rare moment for these usually shy animals). In the afternoon we encountered only two bottlenose dolphins, but luckily they were interested in checking out our boat, and the real treat of the afternoon was sperm whales. We first encountered an adult female, then a bigger male who turned out to be the famous "Mr Liable". To end this great day out on the ocean we ended the tour aboard our catamaran with a couple of encounters with loggerhead turtles. 

Photos from the morning:

Common dolphins

Bottlenose dolphin

Watching the bottlenose dolphins

A bottlenose dolphin with a broken jaw who we call "Max"

The juvenile dolphin seen with Max

Our catamarans with the dolphins

Blainville's beaked whale

Blainville's beaked whale

One of our catamarans, Quatro ventos

Photos from the afternoon:

Watching the two bottlenose dolphins

The first sperm whale - an adult female

Sperm whale diving

The second sperm whale - Mr Liable

Watching Mr Liable at the surface

Mr Liable going on a deep dive

Loggerhead turtle

Sperm whales again!!

Today finally we had a perfect day with whales and dolphins! In the morning we saw Sperm whales and two species of dolphins: our famous Flipper, the bottlenose dolphin and a really giant group of Atlantic spotted dolphins, as usual, very curious and playful. In the afternoon we also saw sperm whales, spotted and common dolphins again.

As in many of our trips we saw different species like turtles, terns, cory’s shearwaters…


Some photos of our trip:

 Sperm Whale

Bottlenose dolphins

 

 

 'Adult' Spotted dolphin underwater

 

 Loggerhead Turtle

 A tern resting in a box

Risso's and common dolphins

Today we went out on the water in the morning, before the wind and waves picked up in the afternoon. We started the tour with some nice encounters with several small groups of common dolphins spread out over a large area. After spending some time with these friendly dolphins we went further to the east where our lookout had spotted another species. It was a small group of Risso's dolphins! The Risso's dolphins were making the most of surfing in the swells that were forming. It was a great morning with two of our resident dolphin species. 

Photos from today:

Common dolphin

Watching common dolphins from our catamaran

Watching common dolphins from our catamaran

Risso's dolphin

Risso's dolphin

One of our zodiac boats out on the water